Yeah, he wasn’t eligible to switch to FLR(M) from inside the U.K. so the visa was refused.

The first time they lived in the U.K. 18 years ago, it was much easier to stay in the U.K...I believe you could still switch to FLR from a visitor visa and I think you might still have been able to get ILR after 1 year.

I imagine they thought it would be the same this time and didn’t do their research to find out if the visa rules had changed since 2003 (and they have changed several times since then).

Obviously it sucks that they’ll be separated, but they didn’t do the correct process? Assuming he were to leave and reapply correctly would he be able to return? (It looks like they want to fight it, but he didn’t follow the law so how can they win?)

Reading that comment section nearly killed me. So much ignorance there about immigration. Even without the racism, there was a comment about how you never really lose your US green card. Wow I wish that were true

Obviously it sucks that they’ll be separated, but they didn’t do the correct process? Assuming he were to leave and reapply correctly would he be able to return?

Yeah, if he returned to the US and applied properly he would be able to get a spousal visa to return. However, whether they meet the financial requirements is another question.

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(It looks like they want to fight it, but he didn’t follow the law so how can they win?)

You'd be surprised - there was a family on here a couple of years ago in a similar situation... it took them about 2 or 3 years of fighting it, but I think they were eventually put on the 10-year path without having to leave the UK.

You'd be surprised - there was a family on here a couple of years ago in a similar situation... it took them about 2 or 3 years of fighting it, but I think they were eventually put on the 10-year path without having to leave the UK.

I think they had a baby though? If I remember correctly.

But yeah, it seems as soon as the media gets involved, they are allowed to stay.

I'm guessing having lived in the UK for 3 years back in 2000-2003, he would have held ILR, and if he had applied for citizenship back then before returning to the US, he wouldn't be in this situation now. It's because of situations like this that we recommend applying for citizenship when you qualify, even if you plan to leave the UK... because you never know if you might need to return in the future.

Back when they first lived in the UK, ILR was free (a fee of £155 was introduced in 2003) and citizenship cost just £200. Plus there were no official minimum financial requirements for the visa.

These days, they're looking at at least £10,000, 5 years and 3 visas to gain citizenship, plus meeting the financial requirement for each visa.

Those comments are awful, but so is the article. Histrionic hand-wringing with no actual facts and no attempt to clarify the situation. "Journalism" like that helps no one.

It’d be a stretch to call that article anything related to journalism. It offered no information about why the situation had arisen or even the most basic rundown of the immigration process. Zero context. Less than zero critical analysis.